


Shadows

by FireflySummer



Category: The Walking Dead (TV), daryl dixon - Fandom
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Inner Dialogue, Love, Love Confessions, Older Man/Younger Woman, Original Character(s), Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24145606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflySummer/pseuds/FireflySummer
Summary: Imagine if Beth had escaped Grady alive. How would Daryl and Beth react to one another once reunited under the watchful eye of the rest of their ‘family’.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene
Comments: 27
Kudos: 141





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Beth’s Point of View**

Wordlessly Beth followed Daryl as he moved to the edge of the woods disappearing behind the thick tree line. He hadn’t asked her to follow him on his attempt to hunt food for the weary group. He didn’t need to! Ever since her rescue from Grady they have both been inseparable. A wordless agreement that had been communicated in the cool grey corridor as Rick had negotiated with Dawn for her release. It had been a silent communication that had passed between them, just a simple look conveying all that needed to be said.

_‘A’int letting you out of my sight ‘gain Girl’_

_‘Good. Cus’ I’m never leaving your side again’._

Beth knows how it must appear strange to their family. She can feel their eyes burning into her back as she enters the woods. Imagines their whispered conversations as they try to make sense of what is going on between the woman they have always treated as a child, and the man who she once heard Maggie call feral.  


Beth knows they cannot fathom out how two people they consider so different, who had barely spoken to one another back at the prison were now so inextricably joined to one another. And the truth is she doesn’t care what they think. If they asked she couldn’t explain it even if she wanted to, and she knows Daryl certainly never will! 

What happened to them both after the fall of the prison, all those weeks on the run together had altered them both.  ‘It’ had begun out in the woods when they were running together, with moonshine, dumb questions, hurt pride and screaming at one another until they were horse.  


Then the aftermath of their explosive argument had followed as Daryl had laid himself open to her raw from his misplaced guilt. This strong yet vulnerable man had shown himself to her as he never had to anyone before and she had literally physically held Daryl Dixon together like he would shatter completely if she let him go. 

After that it had been simpler. 

They had ripped each other apart, torn each other down to nothing and then they had built each other up step by painful step until they knew each other inside out.A friendship was formed based on unparalleled understanding followed by warm looks, occasional touches, hand holding and the weight of the unspoken words that followed their final moment together in the funeral home. A conversation they had yet to resume and that she knew Daryl would avoid at all costs. 

When she was taken from him, Beth knows that the only thing that kept her alive, that made her fight was the thought of getting back to Daryl. 

Nobody else. 

Not even her sister. 

Just Daryl. 

Because she knew that if she had to choose again that Daryl was her choice every time. He should have been her choice all along rather than pushing and pushing for him to track and find the family who had given her up so easily for dead. She has since learned that her own sister had chosen a misguided mission to DC with strangers over the knowledge her own blood was alive. And although he hasn’t said it, she knows that all those weeks she was lost to him that Daryl never once gave up on her. The man in front of her whose shadow she walks alongside was the only one who was steadfast, loyal and true to her, and she loves him unreservedly for it.

So what are they now? She doesn’t know. They aren’t just friends. She knows this. They are like the two shadows they are casting on the forest floor. They have become inextricably joined. There are no obvious edges, no divide, they simply move as one.  


The long journey on foot in search of somewhere to once again call home has been difficult. But Beth has weathered it with surprising ease because of the man stood right next to her now in the dappled light of the woods. When they are on the move they walk at the back of the group, so close their arms brush together, but neither move to put any distance between them. 

Occasionally Beth feels Daryl’s hand ghost the small of her back, for no reason other than to feel she is there – a touch so slight she could barely feel its presence, yet it’s there, strong and reassuring. Her own hand twitches on occasions, allowing her fingers to brush lightly against his larger calloused hand feeling his body barely perceivably jolt with pleasure. 

If the group are discussing their next plan, Daryl is beside her.On the few occasions when any discussion gets heated as exhaustion and desperation set in Daryl’s body moves subtly, his shoulder angled protectively towards her. 

Then there are the looks where words are missing. Heated and achingly long looks conveying everything that needs to be said but has not yet been spoken. Looks full of heat, longing and dare she hope love. 

The night times have possibly been the most perplexing for the group. Often they are forced to sleep in the open under the canopy of the trees taking it in turns to watch out for walkers or worse. She knows people had expected her to sleep near her sister and Glenn, or possibly Rick, Carl and baby Judith. Instead from the first night of her escape from Grady she had settled herself next to Daryl resting her head on his shoulder as he leaned against an obliging tree keeping watch on the periphery of their group. 

Beth remembers as everyone fell asleep the wonder she felt as his free hand not clutching his crossbow had shyly and tentatively circled round her back, his calloused fingers finding the small patch of flesh and the jut of her exposed hip bone, lightly brushing over her taught skin in slow melodic circles. It was a sensation that was both comforting and dangerously averting, setting her body on fire and an ache of desire and longing so strong Beth felt like she was about to combust. 

The following night Beth had been a little braver nestling herself between Daryl’s parted legs once everyone was asleep. The soft sounds of their sleeping family making Daryl brave enough to instantly loop his arm around her, his board hands spanning the length of her taught stomach, his face fixed in a fierce scowl daring anyone who might wake to challenge their behaviour. She can honestly say being cocooned in the warmth of his embrace, caged in by those arms was the best feeling in the world. Surrounded by his scent a mixture of sweat and the forest made her body relax and allowed her to sleep more deeply than she had in weeks.

Then there was last night when she awoke sobbing and flailing on the ground from the nightmare - imagining herself once again trapped against the desk of the office in Grady with Gorman pushing himself up against her and slamming her head into the desk. 

Maggie had attempted to comfort her and the group had hovered over her protectively but it was Daryl she sought and clung to as he whispered into her hair in his soft gravelly voice  ‘ _S’alright_ _girl, I got ya_. ’ Over and over again until she buried her head in his neck and exhaustion and sleep finally claimed her. In the aftermath of her nightmare she awoke this morning with his body wrapped around her like a protective shield, his arm loosely wrapped around her middle and her back pressed firmly into the solid warmth of his chest, his head resting in the nook of her neck his breath softly fanning her. 

It was like they were stuck in some dance where neither knew the steps only the direction involved both of them.

Maggie she knows is incensed by it all. It’s not that Beth is being cruel. She is glad her sister is alive but she can’t somehow bring herself to forgive her for abandoning her with such ease. Beth has caught Maggie watching her and Daryl. Her eyes narrowed and the anger rippling off her on the verge of saying something about the closeness that exists between her little sister and the hunter. However, a warning glance from Glenn has so far held her tongue. 

Beth is glad, because she knows eventually there will be a confrontation and she does not feel like explaining anything to anyone least of all Maggie. How can she tell her sister that Daryl out of everyone in their family had been the only person who has ever really truly understood her and allowed her to be herself? Both before and after the world turned. There were no expectations of her from Daryl to be little Beth Greene, good daughter and sister, a surrogate mother to baby Judith.  


For Daryl, Beth could be whoever the hell she wanted and he would accept her regardless. He alone had not viewed her as another dead girl. He had given her the push she needed to survive, to want to survive and not just that he had given her the tools to do so. Daryl had taught her how to track and even to fire his bow with his gravelly soft southern drawl and surprising infinite patience. 

Now as she moved through the forest Beth stepped with almost as much grace and silence as the man in front of her, her eyes following the angel wings of his leather vest.  


She loves watching Daryl when he is hunting. His usual countenance especially in the presence of others is hunched, curled in as if trying to appear inconsequential, invisible, hiding in the shadows and wishing to remain unnoticed. Or when the red mist descends and he is angry Daryl paces like a trapped wild animal ready to pounce.  


She guesses if you spent most of your life being told you were stupid and worthless you would believe it.  


But in the forest as he is now the real man seems to be revealed and everything she knows he really is seems to be before her.

The grace of him is the most captivating thing she thinks she has ever seen. 

Daryl is beautiful. 

He moves with ease, fluidly negotiating the woods. He is master of this environment, completely in control. A confident wall of raw muscle, sweat and power which seems to ripple through every sinew of his being. His focus is intense, his eyes trained and unyielding catching the slightest movement or the smallest sign.  


Beth almost felt guilty for following him now. Her intention of course was not to be separated from him. However, that was not the only reason. It had been a week since they had left Grady and Beth was determined that the conversation at the funeral home was going to be finished.

Her voice cut through the silence of the forest  ‘ _What changed your mind_?’

Beth needs no preamble. No explanation to the context of the question and Daryl though she can only see his back has stilled but does not appear shocked as he slowly turns to face her. His eyes are an intense stormy blue as they fix her with his gaze, his shaggy hair for once not concealing his face from her.

‘Girl, ya really need me to spell it out to ya” He asks his voice raw yet impossibly soft. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl’s point of view about how he feels about Beth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning. Description of past child abuse.

_Her voice cut through the silence of the forest ‘ What changed your mind’.  
_

_Beth needs no preamble. No explanation to the context of the question and Daryl though she can only see his back has stilled but does not appear shocked as he slowly turns to face her.  
_

_His eyes are an intense stormy blue as they fix her with his gaze, his shaggy hair for once not concealing his face from_ _her._

_‘Girl, ya really need me to spell it out to ya” He asks his voice raw yet impossibly sof_ t

Daryl doesn’t avert his gaze. He doesn’t want to. He wants Beth to see his eyes because he’s pretty sure that if he messes this up, (which he’s almost certain he will), she will at least see what he means by looking at him.

He had always been able to hide his emotions so well until this girl. This God damn girl! She’s stripped him raw right down to his bones with her perceptiveness. This little slip of a woman takes no prisoners!

He opens his mouth to speak but closes it again. He knows in the past people have thought him stupid. That the reason he won’t speak is because there is nothing there. Years of abuse at the hands of his father have beaten him senseless. His brain is an empty void with very little in it apart from the primitive survival instincts that have served to keep him alive. That his blank-face which offers so little shows he is void of any emotion. 

A cold heartless son of a bitch just like his father.

But that ain’t true. It’s so far from the truth it would be laughable if he could explain it. Far from being empty of thoughts or feelings the truth is he is awash with them. So much so they are all twisted up inside him and he can’t get them out. The words get jumbled and he gets so angry with himself that it comes out all wrong, often cruel… just like his old man.

His old man, whose to blame for this mess in his head. His old man who used to yell at him for not being able to speak and answer him when he asked a question. But who also used to yell and shout when Daryl dared to speak.

This confusing dynamic had caused Daryl to grow up virtually mute, knowing whether he chose to speak or not would make very little difference as he would be beaten regardless. At least by not saying anything he couldn’t be mocked for what he thought or believed.

As for showing emotions, Dixons weren’t meant to show emotions. Showing emotion was a sign of weakness and Dixon men were not weak! Like the pack mentality of wolves any sign of weakness was rooted out and beaten out of you fast.

Long dead, Daryl has always felt like he still stands in his father’s shadow. This reality has left Daryl unable and unwilling to express emotions openly. Some of the basic feelings others took for granted were foreign to him.

Especially love.

He hardly remembers his mother, his father he would rather forget and his brother… Merle … well Merle was Merle and he sure as hell wouldn’t thank Daryl for expressing his feelings.

So caring about anyone, showing he actually did give a damn, showing he loved the people in his new family were all new experiences for Daryl Dixon. Something he has learnt since the world turned to shit.

And the way he showed it was not through words, but through actions. By going on runs. By getting shit people need. By hunting and providing for people. By relentlessly pushing through his own exhaustion volunteering for extra watches and walking the fences of the prison till he could have dropped to his knees.

It’s the only way Daryl knows how to show anything. By being useful By loyally and unswervingly devoting himself to protecting what is his.

And now… Fuck! 

Now this amazing, beautiful girl is stood in front of him asking him to reveal how he feels. He’s been trying to show her with his actions. A touch of the hand. Wrapping his arms around her to comfort her or keep her warm. Simple gesture to some people, but to him they are difficult. Daryl has never liked being touched, or being physically near to anyone. Touch has only ever meant pain. A thought so deeply imbedded into him Daryl thought he would never feel any different. 

Until Beth.

The truth is he craves her touch. The simple softness of her skin. The warmth that radiates from her. The cool touch of her hands. It’s so God damn overwhelming the need it has created within him. The fact that she is not repulsed by him. That he is not ‘ugly’, ‘useless’ or ‘worthless’ in her eyes. 

Beth instead actively seeks out his disgusting, scared shell of a body and seems to take comfort in it. Wrapping her arms around him, snuggling in close to his chest her head resting over his heart, burying into his neck. He can’t get enough of her. No matter how closely she is pressed up against him, it never feels close enough.

The irony is that the feelings these touches evoke are far more intimate than anything Daryl has ever experienced before with a woman. He has _been_ with women. Drunken one night stands in seedy motels, or worse up a wall in an alleyway or dirty bathroom stall. Sex has never been something that Daryl has sought or craved like Merle or his old man. Usually it has been something that has happened when he’s drunk to get Merle off his back and any unwelcome comments about his sexuality.   
  
And now with Beth?

Daryl isn’t stupid. He can see where this is heading and it scares the hell out of him. That simple question _‘What changed your mind_ ’. She already knows the answer, he’s certain of it. Yet she needs to hear him say it.

What’s more she deserves to hear him say it!  
  
Daryl wants to be like one of those guys on those dumb ass movies Merle used to bitch about but watch with rapt attention! He wants to reel off the right words in the right order and make that grand romantic gesture. But it ‘aint him and this life sure as hell ain’t no fucking movie. 

He wants his answer to express all his thoughts and feelings, so she is in no doubt at all of how he feels about her. What she has come to mean to him. What he wants them to mean to each other. 

He isn’t good enough for her. He knows that, but he sure as hell wants to spend the rest of his life trying to be. 

The intensity of his feelings for her scare the hell out of him, but the alternative of never telling her is even more frightening. He’s made that mistake once before on the dusty floor of a funeral home when she was taken from him and he isn’t making it again!

So Daryl takes a deep breath and he looks her in the eyes and opens his mouth to speak and the words as predicted come tumbling out in a great big fucking mess! Disjointed, raw and yet so honest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl finally finds his voice. Written from Beth’s point of view. Very fluffy! Sorry.

** Beth’s Point of View **

_ He wants his answer to express all his thoughts and feelings, so she is in no doubt at all of how he feels about her. What she has come to mean to him. What he wants them to mean to each other.  
_

_ He isn’t good enough for her. He knows that, but he sure as hell wants to spend the rest of his life trying to be.  _

_ The intensity of his feelings for her scare the hell out of him, but the alternative of never telling her is even more frightening. He’s made that mistake once before on the dusty floor of a funeral home when she was taken from him and he isn’t making it again. _

_ So he takes a deep breath and he looks her in the eyes and opens his mouth to speak and the words as predicted come tumbling out disjointed, raw and yet so honest. _

Beth watches the conflicting look on his face. The tightening of his jaw and the creased furrow on Daryl’s face like a new level of determination has taken over him. His soft gravelly voice an intoxicating mix of grit and molasses. 

_ “S’you Girl. Only ever could be. No one else. Jesus Beth. When you were gone it scared the hell outta me! You was right … I missed you so damn much it hurt. I couldn’t think ‘bout nuffin but how I gotta find ya. Said I’d be the last man standing. Don’t wanna be. Not if you’re not the last women standin wit’me.” _

His nerve finally failed him and his eyes dropped to the ground averting her gaze, his shoulders hunched and his body physically shaking from all the emotions he was so desperately trying to express. Beth felt almost like her heart was being wrenched out of her and split in two by the vulnerability Daryl was so willingly showing her.  


She took a slow step forward, then another until their boots were touching, her hand slowly reaching out, fingers gliding up his forearm and bicep, curling round the taught muscles. She heard a soft moan escape his lips, his shoulders dropping forward further like all the tension had finally left him.

“ _Daryl?”_ she whispered hardly daring to break the silence surrounding them. Frightened that whatever words she spoke would alter the course of their lives forever. Yet rejoicing in it.

Daryl remained unmoved.

“ _Daryl?”_ Still he did not move his head

_ “Daryl, please …”  _ She spoke pleading with him. Needing that connection once again. 

Then those eyes are meeting hers with an intensity that sears through her to her very core. Beth almost felt cruel pushing him any further but they need this. He needed this. Time was so precious. Life so precarious. They could both be dead tomorrow without ever telling each other how they felt and for Beth that was unacceptable.So she spoke now and hoped her words didn’t scare him.

_ “You, kept me alive in Grady. The thought of you. Only you. It’s what made me fight. What made me want to live. I knew I had to get back to you, whatever it took.” _

A small choked noise emanated from Daryl and Beth allowed her hand to creep up his arm further slowly resting her cool palm on the scruff of his cheek relishing in the feel of it under the smoothness of her hand, as he leaned slightly into her touch. 

Her eyes flickered over his face. Features so beloved and familiar to her now. The angular appearance of his face, his sharp cheek bones, the small mole hidden amongst the scruff of his beard, the unkempt hair that desperately needed cutting and the narrow eyes burning with a fierce intensity. 

_ “I love you” _ she whispered softly, exhaling with relief for finally voicing what was in her heart,  _ “I’m in love with you”  _ she corrected. So anxious to let Daryl be in no doubt of her feelings.

Daryl’s eyes flickered before her gaze then slowly his hands moved towards Beth gently cupping her face and tilting it. It was as if everything was playing in slow motion as his head dipped to hers. His faced came out of focus as his lips brushed softly against hers, his mouth saying more articulately than he could possibly ever voice how he felt about her.

The kiss was hesitant, slow and gentle as if Daryl were savouring the feel of her lips against his own. When Beth had imagined Daryl Dixon kissing her in the past, ( and she had imagined it!) she had thought it would be full of heat almost rushed and clumsy in its intensity. Nothing had prepared her for this slow achingly gentle kiss that seemed to gently tease her lips and steel her very breath away. 

Yet why should she be surprised? In their time alone together Daryl had again and again surprised her with his ability to do anything. Why would being so tender and gentle with her be any different.

His lips felt surprisingly soft as they moved seductively over hers, gently exploring her mouth. The soft moans escaping her seemed to lend Daryl all the encouragement he needed. His tongue swept over her lips seeking permission to deepen the kiss, which she willingly gave as she parted her lips . Daryl’s tongue slid inside as he began to explore her slowly and sweetly. Beth let out another soft moan of pleasure as one of his hands dropped from her face to the small of her back tugging her in closer so their bodies melted into each other.  


There was no distance between them now. It felt like two pieces of a jigsaw finally reuniting as her small body fit so neatly and perfectly into his larger muscular frame.

Beth’s own mouth began to move with more fervour, desperate to convey to him her need by deepening the kiss, pressing her body up against his leaving him in no doubt of her desire. Suddenly all hesitancy was lost and things were spiralling fast as their bodies stumbled backwards until her back hit the roughness of a tree, Daryl’s hand instinctively protecting her from the worst of the impact. There would be bruises later but she really didn’t care.

Wave upon wave of desire and love for this man seemed to jolt through her pooling at the base of her spine. Beth felt an unfamiliar tugging of desire like she had never felt before between her legs causing her to moan even louder in to Daryl’s open mouthed kisses. 

Beth was not a virgin if you could count the one time she had submitted to Zac’s persistence. It had been quick, awkward, embarrassing and uncomfortable despite Zac’s best efforts. After it had made her want to cry for days. Beth had blamed herself for the disappointment. Too many romance novels growing up as a girl had caused her expectations to be high. She had thought she was stupid and naïve. Earth shattering sex was for movies and books not real life. 

But now wrapped in Daryl’s arms with desire licking like flames at her skin causing her to ache with her need for him, Beth realised that she was wrong.This was how it was meant to be. But it could only ever be like this with Daryl.

She began to moan more deeply as Daryl’s hand gently skimmed under her shirt and up her sides until his hand came to rest near her left breast. His thumb almost but not quite brushing against the fabric of her bra and her sensitive skin, not quite brave enough to move any closer. Beth let out a needy moan pushing herself harder into his touch. She wanted him! All of him! She wanted his hands all over her; she wanted his skin against hers. Just the thought of it was enough to almost tip her over the edge into an orgasm.  


Judging from the way Daryl was pressed so firmly against her, his own obvious arousal pressed against her thigh she guessed he was fairing no better. They were like a couple of horny teenagers grinding against each other.

Finally they broke apart necessitated by their need to breathe. Daryl rested his forehead against hers, small ragged puffs of air ghosting across her face. His one hand remained cupped against her cheek trembling slightly as his long fingers stroking gently where they spanned the column of her throat. The low rumble of Daryl’s gravelly voice broke through the stillness of the forest sending shudders through her already awakened body. 

Jesus! How could just a voice cause her to be so aroused?

_ “I love you Girl. Fuck, I love you, so god damn much.” _

Beth’s heart soared but she let out a soft giggle so unexpected Daryl raised his head to look at her questioningly. 

_ “Not sure that’s the response I spected” _ He grumbled, his own lip twitching into that slight smile of his she loved so much.  _ “S’funny girl?” _

Beth shook her head softly looking up into his eyes.  _ “Thinking how I’m going to explain this one to Maggie.” _ Her eyes watched his waiting for his response and his own lips twitched again and the familiar dismissive  _ “Pfftt” _ escaped his lips

_ “Christ, reckon she’s gonna cut my balls off and use um as earrings.” _ Daryl grumbled. Beth let out another giggle but stopped when Daryl’s face creased into a fierce scowl.

_ “ Ya mean what you said?”  _ He asked suddenly, uncertainty clouding his eyes.

“ _Bout what?”_ Beth teased then seeing the tension in his face she almost kicked herself. She hoped one day that Daryl would finally accept he was everything to her. All she ever wanted and didn’t know she needed. But this was not that time. The emotions and declarations so new it would take time, and Daryl’s vulnerability required her to be clear and honest with him in everyway.

_ “Yes. I love you Daryl. Yer mine, ya here. An I’m yours if you want me?”  _ She spoke fiercely.

Daryl’s frown shifted slightly then he rumbled  _ “M’ yours sweetheart. Don’t you ever doubt it. I aint much. But I’m yours if that’s what you want. An even when ya realise my sad sorry ass aint enough, I’ll still be yours.”  _

‘ _Don’t’_ Beth whispered. _ ‘Don’t say that, like you don’t think I know my own heart. I Know how I feel. I know what I want. It’s you. I belong to you.’ _

He paused, drawing back so he could look in her eyes.  _ “Ya know, they aint gonna like it don’t ya?” _

Beth frowned in return fully understanding what Daryl was saying.  _ “Gonna think I pushed you into it, took advantage of ya, like some creepy ass old man.”  _

There was a pained look on Daryl’s handsome face as he spoke. Beth knew how much their family meant to him. It was the only real family he had ever had. To lose their respect would she knows be devastating for his already fragile sense of self-worth. 

_ “Then they’d be wrong wouldn’t they.” _ She said softy cupping his face once again and running the pad of her thumb along his stubbled jaw.  _ “If anything it’s me that has pushed, right from day one. Ya always put me first. Always. This “  _ Beth gestured between them  “ _Coulda happened sooner. I wanted it to. It’s only you been all noble or something that stopped it.”_ She spoke quietly.

“ _Yeah?_ ” Daryl rumbled looking at her through his fringe his lip twitching slightly in that way he did when he wanted to smile.

“ _Yeah_.” She nodded brushing the hair from his eyes in a tender gesture, marvelling that Daryl allowed her, and only her this level of physical intimacy.  “ _Right after we burnt that shack down I knew then for sure. But even before then, when you rolled up to the farm on that bike of yours. I was attracted to you. Couldn’t take my eyes off you. Never seen anyone like you before. Even caused me and Jimmy to argue as he caught me staring at you.’_

‘ _Christ Beth, that long back? How fuckin old were you back then?_ ’ His eyes glinted with barely disguised awe. 

‘ _Seventeen_ ‘.  Beth blushed . ‘ _Old enough. Then at the prison, when you held Judith for the first time. When you looked after us all. Kept us going. I knew. Just had to wait for you to catch up Mr Dixon. We just gotta make um understand s’all.”_

Beth smiled softly. _ “I want you. I’ve only ever wanted you. Nothing and nobody will ever change that.” _

“ _An if they don’t get it? If they think I’m a dirty son of a bitch who took advantage of ya! What then Beth?”_ Daryl whispered, the pain obvious in his voice. 

_ “Then that’s their problem, makes no difference to how I feel about ya. An if it gets that bad, we leave”. _

Daryl scowled even deeper now  “ _You’d do that? Leave your sister to be wit’me after only just findin her again?”_

“ _Yes, Daryl. I love you. If I had to choose it’d be you every time.”_ Beth fixed him with her eyes willing him to believe her. She had never been so sure of anything in her life. This was real. This is what she wanted. The beautiful, strong, loyal yet damaged man who stood in front of her. The other half of her. As much a part of her as her own shadow.

“ _I’m just a dirty ol’redneck Beth, you deserve so much more._ ” Daryl mumbled quietly.

“ _Your everything Daryl. You know I don’t see you like that. God, your everything_.” She whispered softly.  _ “I love you so much.” _

_ “Love ya girl, never gonna stop trying to be the man you think I am.” _ He spoke softly.

“ _Jesus Dary_ l.”  Beth whined. _‘I think we need to get back before I demand you take me up against this tree._ “ Beth said, with no humour in her voice. Daryl swore softly, dipping his head and burying it in Beth’s shoulder, kissing and then lightly nipping the exposed flesh there soothing it with his tongue.

“ _Keep sayin stuff like that sweetheart, and I might just._ ” He growled.

_ “Wish ya would.” _ Beth spoke softly running her hands through his hair. 

“ _Nah, not here. Not our first time. S’gotta be special. In a proper bed._ ” Daryl said pulling his face up to meet her eyes flashing her a rare half grin, the intensity of his eyes betraying his desire for her.

Beth laughed softly. “ _Ya gonna light candles and sprinkle the bed with roses Mr Dixon.”_

“ _Fuck no, don’t want a thorn up my ass, and you and flames is dangerous girl. Regular little pyromaniac.”_

They both laughed, the mood lightening and Daryl reluctantly levered himself away from her. Offering his hand to her which she gladly took as they threaded their fingers together and slowly began to walk back towards the camp their shadows once again joined as one. 

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at fanfiction. This is 3 chapters long so far. I may extend this to a series. It depends on how well this is received. Hope you like it.


End file.
